“It really goes back to that strange early Duran mix: the hard-edged pop, coexisting with this dark, weird, experimental side,” said John Taylor. “That’s something that’s essential to all of us.”

Nick added: “It’s great to be able to lift people’s spirits — and your own — with a strong shot of pure pop, but the world we live in isn’t all just made of that stuff, so it seems natural to me that we have kept one foot in the darker, more Gothic side of life.”

Duran Duran will perform a series of summer festivals, as well as several shows in the US in September and October, followed by a UK arena tour that kicks off in late November.

It reaches the North East on Saturday, December 5, with a date at the Metro Radio Arena in Newcastle.

Tickets, priced from £35, plus the usual booking dfees, will go on sale at 9am on Friday from www.metroradioarena.co.uk or the booking hotline (0844) 493 6666, or from 10am in person from the Arena box office.